Performing Poetry

 

Spoken poetry was poetry for a long time. Poetry as words on a page is a comparatively recent development, and some of the world's greatest literature originated in recitation handed down by word of mouth. That tradition has hardly survived in the English-speaking world, and performing poetry now means a) slam poetry integrated with improvisation and music as a type of performing art, and b) the reading of poetry out aloud in classroom, workshop or poetry reading.

Poetry Reading and Slam Poetry

The two conceptions are not radically different, and the elements of performance govern both. Primarily they are theatre, where the artist engages directly with the audience, and both require an outgoing personality and skills that cannot be learnt from books or the internet. Practice is essential, and the besetting sin of those who read their work in public is to suppose that clarity and a pleasant delivery are all that is required.

In fact the skills needed to perform poetry are as taxing as those required to write it, and it can be astonishing to hear what a trained voice can do with a very indifferent piece.

 

Academia bases its assessment on the written word, and many poets dislike a professional polish being given to their productions. Slickness and staginess are the usual complaints, but the truth may be professional jealousy: the spotlight shifts from the writer to the performer.

 

Important considerations lie behind this matter. There is poetry of the greatest refinement that does not come across in readings, and there is poetry deservedly popular in performance that looks crass and bombastic on the page. How these two aspects are to be balanced — dramatic intensity versus quiet integrity — is for the practising poet to decide. Experience is needed in both directions, just a good playwrights have usually trod the boards for a time.

 

The suggestions below are aimed at poets who must occasionally read their works in public, and the essential message is practise, practise, practise.

 

Some Suggestions

 

1. Learn the basics of the actor's trade: relaxation, breath control, articulation, voice projection and modulation. Do this as a positive daily workout if you're on the poetry circuit, not as a chore left to the night before.

2. Rehearse the performance so thoroughly that the actual reading seems habitual and natural.

3. Entertain. Be genuinely friendly to the audience. Address them directly. Secure attention. Play to their responses.

4. Memorize the pieces sufficiently so that only the odd glance at the script is necessary.

5. Leave nothing to chance. Check lectern, microphone, space on the stage, how you make your entrance, place your script, etc.

6. Know where you are on the evening's list of readers, and arrange your pieces accordingly. You'll feel easier, and so will they.

7. Anticipate interjections and problems; prepare handy responses.

8. Enjoy yourself. Have a good time, and the audience will too.

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